Nicktoons Unite!
Nicktoons Unite! (also known as SpongeBob SquarePants and Friends: Unite! in Europe) is a 2005 video game featuring characters and levels from SpongeBob SquarePants, Danny Phantom, The Fairly OddParents, and The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. In the game, the player can control four Nicktoons characters (SpongeBob SquarePants, Jimmy Neutron, Timmy Turner, and Danny Phantom) as they work together to stop an evil plan concocted by villains from each character's series. An Xbox version was planned, but was cancelled in development. The game was released to generally mixed reviews and spawned three sequels: Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island, Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots, and SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doom. Gameplay In the console version, the player can play with three computers and no other human players, or with a friend or two with the remaining computer(s). One can switch abilities, which have multiple uses. There are also things only a certain character can do. For example, SpongeBob is needed to use Bubble Bombs to blow up a pillar, Danny is needed to use Ghostly Wail on some glass, Timmy is needed to use Freeze Glove to freeze some water, or Jimmy has to shoot down some things with his Neutron Flare. Goddard can be found in all four worlds (and oddly enough, inside himself) so he can upgrade the player's weapons and abilities. The DS version is a full 3D platformer where you play as one of the four characters at a time, which can be selected at any moment via the touch screen, while the GBA version is a 2D platformer where you have to alternate between the two characters given at the beginning of the level in order to progress. It uses pre-rendered 3D sprites based on the models of the DS version. Plot The gamer is first introduced to SpongeBob SquarePants, who realizes that Plankton has taken over Bikini Bottom. Then Goddard exits a portal, and displays a message to SpongeBob from Jimmy Neutron. Following Goddard through the portal, he meets Jimmy, Danny Phantom, and Timmy Turner. Jimmy coats SpongeBob with self-regenerating moisture to keep him healthy. Jimmy then explains that the Universe Portal Machine had been copied by Prof. Calamitous, who went on to use it to form a Syndicate with Plankton, Vlad Plasmius, and Denzel Crocker; they have stolen energy from each world. Since Calamitous' lair cannot be found, they start with the other worlds first. The heroes arrive in Vlad's new castle by accident, where he reveals his ghost portal is siphoning energy from the Ghost Zone to further the Syndicate's plans. As a precaution, Vlad has captured Danny's parents. Vlad knocks them out and imprisons them in the Ghost Zone Prison. Befriending the Box Ghost, the heroes escape after knocking out Walker. Danny leads the heroes to the Fenton Works ghost portal, where he claims no relation to the Fentons and that they are Ghost Hunter experts. They meet Danny's friends, Sam and Tucker, who explain that some ghosts have possessed the citizens. Danny drives out the ghosts before the group cuts through the Amity Park Graveyard to Vlad's castle. Upon arrival, Jimmy realizes there are generators keeping the portal open. The gang destroys the generators, thus shutting off the portal. Confronting Vlad, Danny possesses his dad Jack, using the 'Ghost Gauntlets' to pummel Vlad. Vlad gloats the Syndicate is building something and have sufficient ghost energy to help power it before fleeing. The heroes' next destination is Bikini Bottom (with Jimmy, Danny, and Timmy using Jimmy's air gum to breathe underwater). They meet Sandy, who explains that Plankton uses harvesters to capture jellyfish to extract power from their sting; he has also imprisoned Mr. Krabs. Sandy sends them to Jellyfish Fields to meet Patrick, but he has been sucked into a harvester. After destroying the harvesters, the group find themselves on the Flying Dutchman's ship; they (minus SpongeBob since he's annoying) are to be his new crew. However, Danny persuades him to let them go in exchange for bringing back his old crew. Upon arriving at the Chum Bucket, they free Patrick and the jellyfish. On the roof, they face Plankton by using a robotic crab and rescue Mr. Krabs. The heroes then learn that the Syndicate is extracting energy for a Doomsday Device, and Crocker is still supplying power to it. In Dimmsdale, the heroes infiltrate Crocker's golden fortress, finding a rainbow of Fairy Magic ending there. After reactivating the prism, they arrive in Fairy World. Since Jimmy has been here before, he gives an incorrect explanation. Jorgen explains that Crocker is extracting the magic from the Big Wand to feed the Doomsday Machine. After freeing the fairies, they reach The Big Wand, where they defeat Crocker. SpongeBob and Danny deduce that the villains have retreated to Retroville in order to regroup after being defeated. Timmy, on the other hand, believes everything will be okay with the Big Wand giving fairies back their full magic, by wishing the bad guys into jail and the dismantling of the Doomsday machine. However, Wanda announces that Da Rules only allow changes to Dimmsdale's dimension, disappointing the heroes. They return to Jimmy's lab, where Calamitous contacts them, revealing that the Doomsday Machine is almost finished. SpongeBob sees Goddard scratching his ear, making Jimmy realize Calamitous planted a flea-bot in Goddard to spy on him. Realizing that the only way to stop Calamitous is to trace the flea-bot's signal, the heroes use Jimmy's shrink ray to shrink down and enter Goddard, and after defeating the flea-bot, Jimmy hacks the flea-bot's circuitry to locate Calamitous' lair. Upon arrival, the Syndicate declares the world will be destroyed as a show of power, and the machine will protect them from the destruction. Despite the heroes' damaging the machine, the villains continue the count down. SpongeBob miraculously unplugs the Doomsday Machine, and Calamitous laments that he had forgotten to finish the back-up power supply. With Calamitous in prison, the heroes part ways. Jimmy gives the heroes each a Neutronic Recaller in case of a future incident. SpongeBob leaves first, most likely holding Plankton captive in his pocket. Danny gives Jimmy a second Fenton Thermos that he had made with Jimmy's matter copier (since Vlad is trapped in the original), which Jimmy thinks will help him figure out what "those phantasm images really were." Timmy thanks Jimmy for a Hyber-Cube, which is holding Crocker captive. Cindy waves Timmy off. After this, Jimmy shouts a familiar line: "Cindy, get out of my lab!" Cast *Debi Derryberry as Jimmy Neutron *David Kaufman as Danny Phantom *Tara Strong as Timmy Turner *Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants, Gary the Snail and the French Narrator *Susanne Blakeslee as Wanda and the Lab Computer *Daran Norris as Cosmo and Jorgen Von Strangle *Tim Curry as Professor Calamitous *Martin Mull as Vlad Plasmius *Mr. Lawrence as Sheldon J. Plankton *Carlos Alazraqui as Denzel Crocker *Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick Star *Carolyn Lawrence as Sandy Cheeks, Cindy Vortex and the Female Fairy *James Arnold Taylor as Walker, the Male Fairy, and the Doomsday Trooper Reception All versions of the game received generally mixed to average reviews, being mostly criticized for the monotony of the gameplay. In an IGN review, Mark Bozen gave the DS version of the game 5/10 stars, stating the crossover concept had been done "far better in previous games." In a more positive review for the PlayStation 2 version, Gamezone opined that "while somewhat repetitious, the linear design and simple control schemes will draw players along and it is not hard to work through the levels." Review aggregator Metacritic gave the game a score of 53 out of 100 based on 8 reviews. References External links * Nicktoons Unite at Internet Movie Database * GameSpot Coverage|GameSpot Category:Video games Category:2005 video games Category:2006 video games Category:Cancelled Xbox games Category:Cooperative video games Category:Crossover video games Category:Game Boy Advance games Category:GameCube games Category:Nicktoons video games Category:Nintendo DS games Category:PlayStation 2 games Category:THQ games Category:TOSHI Engine games Category:Action-adventure games Category:Video games based on SpongeBob SquarePants Category:Video games based on The Fairly OddParents Category:Video games developed in Australia Category:Video games developed in the United Kingdom Category:Video games featuring anthropomorphic characters Category:Video games featuring parallel universes Category:Video games with cel-shaded animation